1. Field of the Invention
The field of the present invention is that of automobile equipment relating to conductive electrical connections produced by structural combination of a number of mutually-insulated electrical connection members. Its subject matter is an auxiliary electrical socket intended to be fitted to an automobile vehicle for the occasional supply of power to an accessory provided with a complementary plug.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the automobile field, a vehicle is frequently equipped with an auxiliary electrical socket which is available to a passenger for the occasional supply of electrical power to an accessory device, such as a mobile telephone, for example. Such accessory devices are generally provided with a plug including a body of globally cylindrical shape that carries a first connecting terminal at its periphery and a second connecting terminal at its distal end.
To connect the contacts of the plug with the terminals of the electrical circuit of the vehicle that are assigned to them, the socket includes a cylindrical first conductive element for connecting it to the body of the plug, extended by a first pin. A second conductive element takes the form of a plate against which the second contact of the plug bears, extended by a second pin. The respective pins are intended to be connected to a voltage terminal and a ground terminal of the electrical circuit of the vehicle to deliver to the accessory device a low direct-current voltage, for example of the order 12 V, 24 V, even 42 V. An electrically-insulative connecting member at the distal end of the socket electrically insulates the conductive elements from each other, and can even provide a mechanical connection between the socket and the terminals. Moreover, the socket is equipped with a member for joining it to a structural element of the vehicle, such as a dashboard, console or similar structural element. This joining member is conformed as a ring, for example, intended to be introduced into a housing that the structural element comprises for this purpose. See for example the documents U.S. Pat. No. 5,044,993 (EI-HAJ et al.) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,713,017 (PESAPANE), which describe auxiliary electrical sockets of the kind referred to above.